Outlets such as the San-Jose Mercury News reported that Velasquez was released from the Soledad Correctional Training Facility on Sunday. Details about the terms of his release are not available at this time. A video has surfaced of Velasquez being greeted by his family and a mariachi band.
🚨 Images of Cain Velasquez officially released from prison today
He was emotional and was greeted by his family and a mariachi band 🇲🇽
He served nearly a year for firing a gun at a man accused of sexually assaulting Velasquez’s young son
via Mariachi Jailscience IG pic.twitter.com/EIcaBH8rMu
— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) February 15, 2026
The former two-time UFC heavyweight champion was sentenced to five years in prison, but was sentenced to 1,283 days in February 2025. Velasquez pleaded no contest to attempted murder, among other charges.
Velasquez shot at a vehicle occupied by Harry Goularte. Goularte is accused of abusing Velasquez’s son at a daycare center. Goularte is facing a misdemeanor charge, but he is currently out on bail.
Velasquez received interest from at least one fight promotion even before his release. The official Dirty Boxing Championship X account posted a message publicly offering Velasquez a deal.
“Dirty Boxing Championship will offer Cain Velasquez a multi-fight contract to fight as soon as he is free,” read the image in the promotion’s post on X.
In 2024, Velasquez’s longtime friend and training partner Daniel Cormier recalled how surreal it was to see his MMA mentor undergo the ordeal during an appearance at the Podcast ‘Pound 4 Pounds’.
“He went to jail for a while, it was the saddest thing. I was going to go.” [to jail]sitting with him, and the things we talked about. It was so crazy because he was the reason I knew I could become a world champion. Because he made it possible to dream so big from our gym. Looking at the way he worked, looking at how committed he was to becoming the best in the world. I knew I could be the best…’
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